LAHORE
\nLeading Pakistan trio of vice-captain Shadab Khan, wicket-keeper Mohammad Rizwan and pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi said the visiting West Indies team will not be pushovers.
\nInteracting with the reporters on Thursday ahead of Pakistan\u2019s three-match One-day International series starting next week, they said that Pakistan were well-prepared for the task ahead even if the West Indies are due to arrive with a new-look side with Nicolas Pooran only recently named captain.
\n\u201cThe West Indies are a dangerous white-ball team and we will try to play the same cricket which we have played at home in the recent past,\u201d said Shadab, who will be returning after missing Pakistan\u2019s home series against Australia due to injury.
\n\u201cWe are well prepared for the series,\u201d said the all-rounder, who returned to Pakistan recently following a stint with English county side.
\nRizwan, who also featured for Sussex in the County Championship in the ongoing season, believed Pakistan would need to stay focused to get desired results against the
\nWest Indies in a series which will be played as a part of the ICC ODI Super League.
\nHe said the national team squad had gelled well in the last three years and the world is noticing Pakistan\u2019s attitude of fighting till the end even if they were losing a match.
\n\u201cEven a junior player knows that he has to meet the demands of the team,\u201d said the Pakistan Test vice-captain, adding that his Sussex team-mate South Africa\u2019s Colin Ingram praised the quality Pakistan were displaying.
\nFor Shaheen, the West Indies series will test the pacers in both camps considering the hot weather conditions in Multan, which was named as the host venue last week.
\n\u201cUsually a fast-bowler bowls five to six overs in the first spell and in Multan it may be reduced to four but it depends on the captain and what he requires from his bowlers,\u201d said the left-armer.<\/p>\n
SHADAB RUES MISSING AUSTRALIA SERIES
\nShadab\u2019s county stint was his first outing after getting injured during the Pakistan Super League (PSL) earlier this year. The 23-year-old had registered match-winning performances as Islamabad United\u2019s captain during the PSL with both bat and ball before being forced to sit out.
\nHe was also left out of the Pakistan squad for Australia\u2019s historic visit, which included three ODIs and a T20 along with three Tests.
\n\u201cI missed that big series at home,\u201d said the Mianwali-born leg-spinner. \u201cI and [Mohammad] Nawaz add balance in bowling and batting departments and we could have had a big role in the series.\u201d said Shadab.
\nThe all-rounder said injuries had affected his ambitions to win back a place in Pakistan\u2019s Test side.
\n\u201cYes I am losing a lot of cricket due to fitness-related problems and that is wasting my talent,\u201d said Shadab. \u201cI have the potential to play in all three formats and I am missing Test cricket.
\n\u201cA Test team needs a spin all-rounder and I am trying to make a comeback in Test cricket. When you come back to cricket after recovering from a fitness problem you have to start from zero and I have faced this situation many times.\u201d<\/p>\n
RIZWAN RELISHING HARIS COMPETITION
\nHaving replaced former Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed as the team\u2019s first-choice wicket-keeper himself, Rizwan is now looking forward for healthy competition with recent selection and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mohammad Haris.
\nHaris, who is a similar player to Rizwan with his aggressive batting style and athleticism behind the wickets, was called up in the Pakistan squad following performances in the PSL and the Pakistan Cup \u2014 the country\u2019s premier domestic one-day competition.
\n\u201cI know Sarfaraz Ahmad did not think bad for me,\u201d Rizwan said.
\n\u201cI am not a captain but I desire that at least five wicket-keepers should be in the Pakistan team on the basis of their batting and fielding skills besides wicket-keeping.
\n\u201cIt is not easy to make a place in the team and it needs a lot of hard work.\u201d
\nRizwan said he always set targets for himself for every series but refrained from talking about them prematurely.<\/p>\n
SHAHEEN EYES TOP SPOT
\nOn the other hand, Shaheen, who made his debut against the West Indies in 2018, said he is aiming to become the leading fast-bowler in the world.
\nThe pacer, who hails from former Fata\u2019s Khyber Agency, was named the ICC Cricketer of the Year for 2021 at the age of just 21, said the West Indies series would be a chance for him to become the number one bowler in all three formats.
\nShaheen, who featured in three first class matches for county side Middlesex recently, said he chose to play in England to prepare for Pakistan\u2019s future tours to the British Isles.
\nHe, however, claimed that he enjoyed playing domestic cricket in Pakistan, giving a special mention to his successful start as the Lahore Qalandar\u2019s captain, who won their maiden title in the cash-rich league\u2019s seventh season this year.
\nShaheen said he learnt a lot about captaincy through the experience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LAHORE Leading Pakistan trio of vice-captain Shadab Khan, wicket-keeper Mohammad Rizwan and pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi said the visiting West Indies team will not be pushovers. Interacting with the reporters on Thursday ahead of Pakistan\u2019s three-match One-day International series starting next week, they said that Pakistan were well-prepared for the task ahead even if […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":264448,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[8115,20,1161],"class_list":{"0":"post-264437","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-lightly","9":"tag-pakistan","10":"tag-west-indies"},"yoast_head":"\n